Fewer occupational accidents in autumn

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) reported two fatal accidents at work in the period between last October and December. They involved two men working in construction, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

The data for October-December 2003 indicate a decrease of 15 per cent in the non-fatal accidents at work in comparison to the same quarter a year ago. There were 979 accidents at work in autumn 2003, compared with 1,152 in the same period in 2002. Of these, 86.6 per cent involved men, while the remaining 13.4 per cent involved women.

The figures are based on accidents reported to the Department of Social Security in the period between October and December 2003 for injury benefits.

Half of the non-fatal accidents at work in the period under review occurred in the manufacturing and construction sectors.

As a result, 34 per cent of the accidents concerned workers employed in manufacturing, which includes the shipyards. Accidents in the construction sector accounted for 15.9 per cent of all reported accidents in autumn 2003.

To a large extent, accidents at work reported to the Department of Social Security involve manual workers. Accordingly, 45.5 per cent of the accidents concerned workers in elementary occupations.